The Shifting Sands of Silithus
by Plowsters
Summary: After living a tranquil life in Moonglade tending to the rowdy Moonsabers, the last thing Shiromar expected was to start the Second War of the Shifting Sands.
1. A New Home

**The Shifting Sands of Silithus**

Chapter One: A New Home

And there she was, about to ring the Scarab Gong and unleash their armies against the Silithid forces. Shiromar had never anticipated it to go quite like this; she never expected to start the Second War of the Shifting Sands, but what other choice did she have? Even so, she was never more prepared for this in her entire life.

The night elf priestess had lived a somewhat peaceful life before the invasion of the Silithid armies. She had a home in Moonglade with other members of the Cenarion Circle, tending to the wounded as many priests do. She enjoyed playing with the Moonsabers, and she was the only one who could calm them enough to ride them without reigns. But that all changed when she was no longer able to call Moonglade home.

"Oh, hi Shiromar. I am so glad that I found you," said Ferren, one of the druids. "Remulos himself has called you to his shrine. I think it might be important."

Keeper Remulos is the chief adviser to the man, the druid, Keeper of the Grove, Malfurion Stormrage. Remulos aided Malfurion in the training of druids and helped him found the Cenarion Circle. Remulos is the son of Cenarius himself. What on Azeroth would he want to do with an average priestess?

"Oh, wow. Thank you so much. I guess I should get going now, I wouldn't want to keep him waiting." replied Shiromar.

The Shrine of Remulos is centered around a tree shaped as a woman, in a twisted, almost painful, demeanor. Remulos spends most of his time here, overseeing new recruits and training druids.

As Shiromar approached Remulos, she felt the wind rustle through her long, green hair, and the environment around here thrive with the presence of druidic magic pulsating from the roots of the tree.

"You wished to see me, Master Remulos?" questioned Shiromar.

"A simple Remulos would be fine. I greatly dislike titles. How are the Moonsabers?" he asked.

"Oh, they are better than ever! I have taught Sharei to play fetch with a twig, and I hope the others may soon follow. They are a very social bunch. Is this all you wish to talk about? The Moonsabers?"

"Of course not, my dear." He replied. "As you know, Silithus is still recovering from the First War of the Shifting Sands. We have druids and priests stationed there, caring for the wildlife of the region. I have received reports of a new species present there. Sandsabers. Seeing as you are so kind and gentle with our Moonsabers here at Moonglade, I think you the perfect candidate to study this new species. What is your answer?"

"What will happen to the Moonsabers here? Who will watch them and teach them tricks? Tame them?"

"Don't worry, sweet child of Elune. The Moonsabers will be in great care with Ferren. He absolutely adores them."

"I guess you couldn't have picked a better Night Elf," said Shiromar. "Of course I will take leave to Silithus, Mas- … Remulos."

"Splendid news! We have a hippogryph ready to take you right now!"

"Might I at least say goodbye to the Moonsabers before I part? They will miss me, and Gaien most of all."

"Alright, if you must. But hurry. The Cenarion Outpost at Silithus is expecting you before nightfall."

"May Elune light your path for the rest of your days," she proclaimed.

She hurried over to the pen where the Moonsabers were kept, and hugged all of them before she left. As she went over to Gaien, she whispered in his ear, "Do not fret, little one. I will not be away forever. I will come back for you. There may be some more of your kind down in Silithus, and I have been tasked with finding out more about them. Maybe I can take some back with me, and you can make a new friend! But for now, I must leave you. Watch over Sharei and the other Moonsabers for me. I fear Ferren may not be the best choice to take care of you."

"We haven't all day! Come over here Shiromar!" yelled the Hippogryph master.

As Shiromar mounted the colorful, majestic creature, she already began to miss her babies. She did not know how she would be able to manage without them, but she would find a way.

When she finally reached the Cenarion Refuge, it was in complete turmoil. It was being overrun by massive insects, and they seemed to be winning. She heard a voice from behind her. "If you want to survive this onslaught, follow me." said Commander Mar'alith.

I guess this was her home now; a land plagued by an army of insects and a fear that she may soon lose her life.


	2. Mar'alith

Chapter Two: Mar'alith

"Where are we going!" exclaimed Shiromar.

"A place that is safe from these monstrosities." replied Commander Mar'alith, another member of the Cenarion Circle.

They went down the winding path of Cenarion Hold, and at the base Mar'alith started digging.

"This is absurd! There is nothing under th-" Shiromar was cut off mid-sentence as Mar'alith kicked in the remaining sand and opened up a vast cave full of weapons, with war strategies mapped out on the walls.

"Hurry!" shouted Mar'alith, and they both went inside.

Shiromar began to wonder what was happening to Silithus. "What the hell is going on out there! What are those things?"

"Those are Silithid, and only last week they began attacking posts around Silithus. We have no idea why they're here, and I would like to know why you are as well."

"I was sent by Remulos to study a new Saber species: the Sandsaber. He told me that they had been found here in Silithus and wanted me to find out more about them."

"Well there are no god damn Sandsabers, but if you would like to find out more about these creatures that are attacking our stronghold, preferably their weaknesses, I would be glad to help you."

"Why did you take me down here!"

"Isn't it obvious? You have no weapons and you are clearly not trained for battle. You stand no chance against the Silithid."

A silence pierced the room like an arrow through the heart of a stag. Shiromar instantly regretted leaving her beloved Moonsabers.

"Well Remulos definitely wanted me here for a reason. He was smart not to tell me about the Silithid or I definitely wouldn't have come. I guess I must stay then. I am Shiromar, Priestess of the Cenarion Circle. I was born in Darkshore and spent most of my life being raised by a Night Elf mother and a Human father, but when my mother was killed while hunting for a bear to feed our family, my father sent me off to Darnassus to be trained as a priest by some of Elune's finest. Now I look after Moonsabers in Moonglade and tend to the wounded. Or, at least I did."

"I am Commander Mar'alith, also of the Cenarion Circle. I grew up as the son of a merchant in Ashenvale. We weren't poor, but we made enough gold just to get by. I never knew my mother, as she died giving birth to my brother, Sar'tareth. My father taught me discipline and how to fight, and I went to a school in Astranaar. I was going to join the armies of Stormwind on my 16th birthday, but then a chance meeting with Archdruid Fandral Staghelm changed my life forever. He trained me in the ways of the druid and I soon learned that in order to preserve Azeroth, I had to destroy the evil forces that sought to destroy it. This is why I am here at Silithus, fighting off the malevolent Silithid."

"Nice to meet you, Commander. As long as I am here I pledge my service to you and your ranks here in Silithus."

"Welcome to Cenarion Hold, Shiromar. First, I am going to have to teach you how to fight. Second, I am going to need your help to recover the Scepter of the Shifting Sands; the only hope we have to ending the Silithid onslaught."


	3. The Scepter

Chapter 3: The Scepter

"The Scepter of the Shifting Sands?" asked Shiromar. "What is that?"

"The Scepter of the Shifting Sands is the secret to the demise of these creatures. Far south of here is a city known as Ahn'Qiraj. It is their home. Long ago, the Silithid insects erected an impregnable wall to keep their city safe from outsiders, or at least that is how we believe it happened. It was so long ago that no one truly remembers. But there is still a way inside. Directly outside of the wall is an object known as "The Scarab Gong". Hitting the Scepter against the gong will create enough force to cause the Qiraji wall to fall. But no one has been able to locate the scepter until now. He is here with us today, fighting for his life. He called himself Baristolth of the Shifting Stands. He was revealing the identity of someone who might be able to locate it when the Silithid attacked." said Mar'alith.

"Well what are you doing down here talking to me? We need to make sure that Baristolth is okay or all hope is lost."

They strenuously crawled back out of the cave, as the way in was not nearly as exhausting as the way out. When they finally surfaced, they had seen the aftermath of the battle. Bodies were strewn everywhere like fertilizer in a garden, saturating the ground with blood. A few Cenarion Hold guards remained standing, crowded around a body that lay bleeding. It was the body of Baristolth.

"Make way for the priestess!" shouted Mar'alith.

"Thank the Titans help has arrived!" exclaimed Vish Kozus, Captain of the Cenarion Guard.

Shiromar examined his wounds. He had multiple stab wounds throughout his stomach and his arms, probably from the Silithid's stingers. His heart was barely beating. Without help soon, there would surely have been no hope for him.

"I need a stack of Mageweave bandages! Quick, he is in critical condition. I will use some magic to keep him from dying."

Shiromar cast Flash Heal on Baristolth. The magic coursing through his veins was visible, and it created a glowing aura all around him. An infantryman came back with around 20 bandages… plenty to patch him up.

"He will need my care for a few days. Send a Hippogryph back to Keeper Remulos. I think he would like to hear about this."

"Thank you for your support, kind stranger." said Captain Vish. "Without you our mission would have surely been lost."

"Please, call me Shiromar. Your friend Mar'alith has told me about the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, and I have agreed to pursue it's whereabouts. As soon as Baristolth is back on his feet, I will start my journey."

"No, you won't. You still have to be trained. You cannot recover a priceless artifact like this without being able to defend yourself. You will surely perish." Mar'alith informed her.

"I guess I can stay awhile longer while I keep an eye on Baristolth for you." Shiromar brushed some dirt off of her robes, stained with Baristolth's blood. "Where can I stay?"

"There is an extra room next to mine, if you would like it." said Mar'alith.

"Thank you. I'll be getting some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us." said Shiromar.

` Mar'alith showed her to her quarters, and promptly went back outside to count the casualties of the battle.


	4. Auberdine

Chapter 4: Auberdine

Shiromar was only 7 at the time. She could remember sitting before the fire, brushing her thick, green hair, waiting for her mother to return from her hunt, and her father to return from the bar. She loved her mother with all her heart; she was the only thing that could protect her from her father's drunken wrath. Her mother, Anthetalis, was the one who always tucked her in at night. She was the one that made her breakfast of Fried Elk and Moonkin Sausage every morning.

"Eat well," she said. "You will need those muscles to grow up and be a strong hunter like me."

But she despised her father. He was never home. He was always out drinking Dwarven Lager at a bar in Darnassus, and when he came home that was when she hated him most. She remembered one night in which he hurt her most of all:

"WHO ATE ALL THE FUCKING MOONKIN SAUSAGE! GET YOUR FAT ASS OVER HERE SHIROMAR!" he screamed as loud as he possibly could. "YOU WORTHLESS NIGHT ELF!" He threw her against the wall. "Do you want some more? Here eat the rest of the Elk too why don't you? You fat fucker. I don't know why I had you, bastard half-breed. If I had just married a Human you wouldn't have been such a mistake, I assure you." He tore off pieces of Fried Elk and shoved them down her throat, one by one. Her mother was off on a hunt then, too. "If you tell your goddamn mother about any of this, I swear to the Titans that you won't live to see your 8th birthday."

"How could someone be so cruel?" she thought. "I didn't even eat all the Moonkin. I was feeding it to my pet Frostsaber, Mindy. I was teaching her to do tricks is all."

She didn't want to go to sleep. She had night terrors about her father. She had nightmares about him waking her up from a dead sleep and throwing her against the wall again. She doesn't have them as often anymore, but they happened almost nightly as a child.

But this time it was even worse. He came home crying.

"Why are you crying Daddy?" asked Shiromar. "What's wrong?"

"Go to your goddamn room before I hit you." he replied, sobbing afterwards.

The next day her mom didn't come home. Or the next. Or the next.

"Where's Mommy? I'm scared."

"Your mom is fine. Go to your room."

"But I wanna know where she is Daddy."

"You wanna know where your mom is? THEN GO FUCKING FIND HER YOU BRAT!" he hollered, kicking her out the door.

"Daddy, I'm so scared. I don't know where she is." she said. "I don't wanna g-"

He threw her out the door.

"AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU FIND YOUR GODDAMN MOTHER!"

"Why is he so mean?" she thought. "Why does he do these things?"

She stealthily walked around the house, hoping he wouldn't hear her footsteps. She stopped at a window and saw him holding a bottle, crying. Even after all that he has put her through, it hurt her to see her own father like this.

Shiromar was walking down the road, hoping, praying that the next Night Elf she saw was her mother coming to take her home. The purple leaves on the dirt crunched underneath her feet as she walked. Crunch, crack, crunch. Each footstep sounding as if a bomb went off in her mind. Each footstep is a name that her father calls her. Bitch, worthless. Bastard, half-breed, cunt. Each footstep is her counting the seconds as her father beats her senseless. One, two three, four…

"Are you lost?" asked a stranger that was passing by her.

He was very tall, and he wore a beautiful white robe that seemed to encompass his entire being. It was embroidered in blue, gold, red. He held a staff with the same colors, towering at almost the same height as the man.

"I don't know where my Mommy is, and my Daddy won't tell me. He told me to go find her."

"Oh, wow. I'm so sorry. If you like you can stay with me and we can look for your mother in the morning. It is pretty dark and you need some sleep if you are going to grow big and strong."

"Ok, sir."

They headed northeast to his home in Darnassus. Shiromar can still remember the first time she stepped through the Darnassian gates, with living trees the size of giants smiling down at her. She remembered looking up and seeing columns supporting a marble roof. She remembered wondering how anyone could have built something so massive, and when she returns, she gazes at these gates for hours. They went to the Tradesman's Terrace district, and stopped at the first story of a tall building.

"Alright, let me show you around." They entered the building. "Here is the kitchen, here is the bathroom. Oh, here is where you will be sleeping for tonight. You must be hungry. Would you like some Moonkin sausage? I have plenty of it."

"No, I don't like Moonkin sausage." said Shiromar. Suit yourself. At least drink some Harpy milk before you go to sleep."

Shiromar did as she was told, but she didn't sleep a wink that night. Her mother was out there, somewhere. She just had to find her.


End file.
